Can You Guess Which Automakers Are Doing The Best Job Of Selling High Mileage Vehicles?

TrueCar.com, the authority on new car pricing, trends and forecasting today introduces an easy-to-understand and objective way to comprehend monthly fuel economy averages by brand, manufacturer, origin and vehicle segments using Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ratings based on estimated and/or actual monthly automotive sales-weighted data.  TrueCar is seeking to provide transparency and truth in average fuel economy, providing an alternative view to Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) ratings that can be confusing and misleading. TrueCar’s monthly average fuel economy helps keep in perspective what each manufacturer’s average miles per gallon per car sold using EPA’s window sticker.

“Average monthly fuel economy provides a closer look into how fuel-efficient the vehicles a manufacturer sells each month,” said Jesse Toprak, Vice President of Industry Trends and Insights at TrueCar.com. “It also provides a glimpse into how gas prices are shaping what cars are being sold monthly.”

Based on TrueCar.com’s data, the average fuel economy for vehicles sold for the industry will increase to an estimated 22.2 MPG in February 2011 compared to 21.5 MPG in January 2011. Below is how the top seven manufacturers fared comparing overall MPG and broken out by car and truck MPG:

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According to TrueCar.com, the average fuel economy for vehicles sold by U.S. manufacturers averaged 20.5 MPG in February 2011, up from 19.4 MPG in February 2010. Last year, European manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles sold from 21.4 MPG to 22.2 MPG; Japanese manufacturers stayed flat from last year at 24.0 MPG; and South Korean manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles from 25.3 MPG to 26.6 MPG.

Additionally, TrueCar broke down the data into different segments to give the information even more context to every consumer.  For instance, a look at MPG by Country of Origin shows the South Korean brands are the most MPG conscious:

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Looking at the breakdown by segment, some might be surprised to see that “small car” is actually more fuel efficient than “subcompact car,” though that might be relative to how many vehicles are in each segment:

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TrueCar also broke it down by brand, giving a thorough breakdown of which brands were strongest in MPG.  No surprise the manufacturers that produce mostly compact/subcompact vehicles did better:
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TrueCar also broke it down by vehicle category to give consumers a clear look at which manufacturers are most fuel efficient by vehicle type:

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TrueCar.com computes monthly average fuel economy by brand, manufacturer, origin and vehicle segments by using actual sales data or forecasted sales data for the current month. Calculations start at the trim level, taking into account EPA fuel economy data including engine size and drivetrain that affect a vehicle’s MPG ratings; the sales share from each trim level is then calculated to create an average for each model.  Brand level data is calculated by the sales share of each model and the manufacturer data is then based on the share of each brand, providing an accurate and completely data driven picture of actual measured MPGs in the market place. TrueCar utilizes EPA’s average fuel economy rating using 45 percent highway and 55 percent city driving behavior.

Final February data will be released on TrueCar.com’s TrueTrends report.



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